UCEP Bangladesh has officially launched the project titled “Poverty Alleviation Through Employment of Marginalized Groups of Society (PATE)”, aimed at creating decent employment opportunities and enhancing the skills of marginalized, disadvantaged, and vulnerable populations across Bangladesh. The inauguration ceremony was held today at the UCEP Bangladesh Headquarters under a joint initiative of the Department of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Welfare and UCEP Bangladesh.

The event was graced by Professor Dr. A Z M. Zahid Hossain, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, as the Chief Guest. Special Guests included Dr. Mohammad Abu Yousuf, Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare, and Mr. Shah Mohammad Mahbub, Director General (Additional Secretary), Department of Social Services. The session was chaired by Dr. Muhammad Abdul Mazid, Member, UCEP Board of Governors.

At the outset, Mr. Mohammad Mahmud Sarwar, Project Director, presented the project objectives, implementation strategy, action plan, and expected outcomes.

In his address, Professor Dr. A Z M Zahid Hossain, MP, emphasized that creating decent employment opportunities, thouand skilled monpower and promoting the socio-economic empowerment of marginalized communities are the Government’s key priorities. He noted that the Government is implementing a range of initiatives to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable populations and expressed confidence that the project would contribute to self-reliance, economic growth, and social development.  The inclusion of July’24 fighters and madrasah graduates are new features of the project.

Dr. Mohammad Abu Yousuf, Secretary of the Ministry of Social Welfare, underscored the importance of effective institutional coordination and results-based management for the successful implementation of the project. He expressed optimism that collaborative efforts among government agencies, development partners, the private sector, and implementing organizations would bring meaningful and sustainable improvements to the lives of the beneficiaries.

Mr. Shah Mohammad Mahbub, Director General (Additional Secretary) of the Department of Social Services, emphasized that alongside social protection measures, skills development and employment-focused interventions are critical to fostering self-reliance among marginalized populations. He appreciated UCEP for its core activities in this regard.

In his remarks, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Mazid expressed sincere gratitude to the Government and the development partners for their continued support. He noted that UCEP Bangladesh would leverage its extensive experience, technical expertise, and strong industry linkages to create sustainable employment opportunities for a larger number of people through this project. He requested the hon’ble minister to approve similar project to UCEP in future.

Delivering the closing remarks, Dr. Md. Abdul Karim, Executive Director of UCEP Bangladesh, thanked the distinguished guests, government agencies, development partners, private-sector representatives, and other stakeholders for their support. He stated that,“Beyond creating employment opportunities, this initiative will contribute to building a just and inclusive society by promoting the economic inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and marginalized communities.” Representatives from government and private-sector institutions, development organizations, industries, media outlets, and civil society organizations attended the event